What does this excerpt from act 1 of ibsen's a doll's house tell readers about the cultural context of the play? nora: good heavens, no! how could you think so? a man who has such strong opinions about these things! and besides, how painful and humiliating it would be for torvald, with his manly independence, to know that he owed me anything! it would upset our mutual relations altogether; our beautiful happy home would no longer be what it is now. the play is set in a time period when married women exercised greater autonomy than single women. the play is set in a time period when both genders were gaining social equality. the play is set in a time period when society was defined by strict gender roles. the play is set in a time period when working women were looked down upon. the play is set in a time period when men were taking on domestic duties.